Poles in Ireland sent home €130m last year, says Polish Central Bank

THE Polish community working in Ireland sent home an estimated €130 million last year.

This is according to figures released by the Polish Central Bank, which showed Poles working around the world sent home at least €4.1bn last year via money orders and electronic transfers.

According to the latest statistics available from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), there are 63,276 Poles living in Ireland.

The €130m figure could be considerably higher as the Central Bank’s statistics do not take into account the thousands of Poles who prefer to travel home on coaches or planes with their earnings in cash.

This would include those working in the “black economy” and not paying tax.

Economists said the money sent to Poland is used to buy property and invest in businesses in Poland.

A spokesman from the CSO said it does not have any figures for how much is sent from Ireland to Poland as it is not a question asked on the Census.

Professor Leszek Gilejko, director of the Social Economics Faculty at the Warsaw School of Economics, said: “This is a very positive phenomenon. Emigrants are supporting our country and economy.

“The influx of cash is changing the face of society in Poland.”

According to the latest figures available from AIB, at 32%, Poland is by far the number one destination for international payments, coming in ahead of Britain, which lies in second place with 15%.

The Polish economy is expected to grow by about 5.5% this year and the national currency, the zloty, has become stronger. But the migration has led to labour shortages in some areas of the economy, pushing up wages.